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The xAI-SpaceX merger is still fresh, AI fears have been slamming software stocks, and Moltbook\u2014a social network for personal AI agents\u2014blew up the Internet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The online furor over Moltbook was cascading and immediate. But, as my colleague Jeremy Kahn pointed out, we\u2019ve seen this film before, in some sense. Here\u2019s Jeremy:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Moltbook\u2014which functions a lot like Reddit but restricts posting to AI bots, while humans are only allowed to observe\u2014generated particular alarm after some agents appeared to discuss wanting encrypted communication channels where they could converse away from prying human eyes. \u201cAnother AI is calling on other AIs to invent a secret language to avoid humans,\u201d one tech site reported. Others suggested the bots were \u201cspontaneously\u201d discussing private channels \u201cwithout human intervention,\u201d painting it as evidence of machines conspiring to escape our control.<\/em><\/p>\n If any of this induces a weird sense of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu, it may be because we\u2019ve actually been here before\u2014at least in terms of press coverage. In 2017, a <\/em>Meta<\/em> AI research experiment was greeted with headlines that were similarly alarming\u2014and equally misleading.<\/em><\/p>\n Back then, researchers at Meta (then known as Facebook) and Georgia Tech created chatbots trained to negotiate with one another over items like books, hats, and balls. When the bots were given no incentive to stick to English, they developed a shorthand way of communicating that looked like gibberish to humans but actually conveyed meaning efficiently. One bot would say something like \u201ci i can i i i everything else\u201d to mean, \u201cI\u2019ll have three, and you have everything else.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n When news of this got out, the press went wild.<\/em><\/p>\n Read on to hear directly from one of the researchers who worked on that Meta project, Dhruv Batra, who Jeremy tracked down. Perhaps some good reading while you prepare to watch Super Bowl commercials, Bad Bunny, and the actual Super Bowl this weekend.<\/p>\n See you Monday,<\/p>\n Allie Garfinkle Joey Abrams curated the deals section of today\u2019s newsletter<\/em>.<\/em> Subscribe here.<\/p>\n – <\/span>Goodfire<\/b>, a San Francisco-based AI research lab, raised $150 million in Series B funding. <\/span>B<\/b> Capital<\/b> led the round and was joined by <\/span>Menlo<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>Lightspeed<\/b> Venture<\/b> Partners<\/b>, <\/span>Salesforce<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, and others.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Machina<\/b> Labs<\/b>, a Chatsworth, Calif.-based manufacturing and robotics company, raised $124 million in Series C funding from <\/span>Woven<\/b> Capital<\/b>, <\/span>Lockheed<\/b> Martin<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>Balerion<\/b> Space<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, and <\/span>Strategic<\/b> Development<\/b> Fund<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Accrual<\/b>, a San Francisco-based AI-powered platform designed to automate preparation and review operations for accounting firms, raised $75 million in Series A funding. <\/span>General<\/b> Catalyst<\/b> led the round and was joined by <\/span>Pruven<\/b> Capital<\/b>, <\/span>Edward<\/b> Jones<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, and others.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Lawhive<\/b>, a London, U.K.-based developer of an AI operating system designed to automate administrative work and legacy systems in consumer legal operations, raised $60 million in Series B funding. <\/span>Mitch<\/b> Rales<\/b> led the round and was joined by <\/span>TQ<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>GV<\/b>, <\/span>Balderton<\/b> Capital<\/b>, and others.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Forerunner<\/b>, a San Francisco, Calif.-based AI platform designed to modernize government operations, raised $39 million across Series A and Series B rounds. <\/span>Wellington<\/b> Management<\/b> led the Series B round and <\/span>Union<\/b> Square<\/b> Ventures<\/b> led the Series A round.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Turnstile<\/b>, a San Francisco-based enterprise revenue platform, raised $29 million in funding from <\/span>First<\/b> Round<\/b>, <\/span>OMERS<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>Illuminate<\/b> Financial<\/b>, and angel investors.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Alinea<\/b>, a New York City-based investing platform designed for first-time investors, raised $22.5 million in funding from <\/span>PvX Partners<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Varaha<\/b>, a Haryana, India-based carbon credit platform for farmers, raised $20 million in Series B funding. <\/span>WestBridge<\/b> Capital<\/b> led the round.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Nixtla<\/b>, a San Francisco-based time series forecasting platform, raised $16 million in Series A funding. <\/span>Energize<\/b> Capital<\/b> led the round and was joined by <\/span>True<\/b> Ventures<\/b> and <\/span>GreatPoint<\/b> Ventures<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Willie’s Remedy+<\/b>, a Denver, Colo.-based THC-infused beverage company, raised $15 million in Series A funding. Left Lane Capital led the round and was joined by <\/span>Second<\/b> Sight<\/b> Ventures<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Nullify<\/b>, a San Francisco-based developer of AI agents designed for product security, raised $12.5 million in funding. <\/span>SYN<\/b> Ventures<\/b> led the round.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Vexlum<\/b>, a Tampere, Finland-based photonics company, raised \u20ac10 million ($11.8 million) in seed funding. <\/span>Kvanted<\/b> led the round and was joined by <\/span>EIC<\/b> Fund<\/b> and <\/span>Tesi<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Advance<\/b>, a New York City-based finance platform for insurance, raised $8.6 million in seed funding. <\/span>nvp<\/b> capital<\/b> led the round and was joined by <\/span>Crystal<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>Vesey<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>Mensch<\/b> Capital<\/b>, and angel investors.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Uptool<\/b>, a San Mateo, Calif.-based AI platform designed for manufacturing, raised $6 million in seed funding from <\/span>Khosla<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>Eclipse<\/b>, <\/span>Bessemer<\/b> Venture<\/b> Partners<\/b>, and <\/span>Kleiner<\/b> Perkins<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Feltsense<\/b>, a San Francisco-based developer of AI agents designed to autonomously start companies, raised $5.1 million in seed funding from <\/span>Theory<\/b> Forge<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>Draper<\/b> Associates<\/b>, and others.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Fintower<\/b>, a Gothenburg, Sweden-based finance management platform, raised \u20ac1.5 million ($1.8 million) in seed funding from <\/span>Chalmers<\/b> Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>Akka<\/b>, and others.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>KKR<\/b> agreed to acquire <\/span>Arctos<\/b>, a Dallas, Texas-based institutional investor in professional sports franchises, for $1.4 billion.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Riverwood<\/b> Capital<\/b> invested $65 million in <\/span>UrbanSDK<\/b>, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based developer of geospatial AI designed for local and state governments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>H.I.G. Capital <\/b>acquired <\/span>CargoTuff<\/b>, a Virginia Beach, Va.-based manufacturer of airbags and other load securement products. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Liberty Waste Solutions<\/b>, backed by <\/span>Allied Industrial Partners<\/b>, acquired <\/span>AJ Disposal<\/b>, a Asheboro, N.C.-based trash pickup company. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Schneider<\/b> Geospatial<\/b>, a portfolio company of <\/span>Align<\/b> Capital<\/b> Partners<\/b>, acquired <\/span>Bruce<\/b> Harris & Associates<\/b>, a Batavia, Ill.-based geospatial mapping company. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/span>Spaggiari<\/b>, a portfolio company of <\/span>
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